


The one before they were dating

by Cherrypie62666



Series: Day by Day series [9]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, One Shot, Post-The Blood of Olympus, Pre-The Trials of Apollo, solangelo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-09-08 05:19:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8831950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cherrypie62666/pseuds/Cherrypie62666
Summary: Lou Ellen thinks she knows how to get a rise out of Will.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place on day five of the Day by Day fic, but can be read stand alone.  
> Shout out to Spawn_of_Ssatan for the idea, though I tweaked it a little from the original request. :)

Day Five:

“I think I know how to solve your problem,” Lou said, taking him by surprise. He was walking back from lunch to the infirmary, not really paying attention to his surroundings, so her sudden voice at his side made him jump.

  
“Hades, Lou, you shouldn’t sneak up on people like that,” Will grumbled, catching the look of mischief dancing through her green eyes. “And I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  
“Oh please,” she snorted, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him to a more secluded area. “You want to know if Nico has the hots for you, and I figured out how to find out without embarrassing yourself.” He shot her an incredulous look, but she rolled her eyes. “Don’t try to deny it, Solace, I’ve never seen you happier than when you caught wind of Nico’s little conversation with Jackson. You know he likes boys, let’s find out if you’re one of them.” She waggled her eyebrows at him and he groaned.

  
“And what, pray tell, did you have in mind?”

  
“Well, I say we convince a bunch of people to hit on him, and see how he reacts. We know how flustered he gets when you come on too strong,” he smacked her and she grinned. “Now let’s see if you’re the exception or the rule.”

  
“And why exactly are you deciding to help me out?” He knew there was a catch. Lou always had a catch.

  
“After your little tripping incident, I decided this was a good way to kill two birds with one stone. You get your answer, I get to watch how insanely jealous you get while people hit on your territory. Win win.”

  
“I do not get jealous,” he pouted.

  
“Sure you don’t. That’s why you glare down anyone that so much as looks at the boy wrong. Territorial and a terrible liar.” She patted him on the head and he sighed.

  
“Fine, try your stupid little plan, but it’s not going to work.” She flashed him a charming smile and shrugged.

  
“Oh, you’ll see.” Rubbing her hands greedily, she skipped away to plot his embarrassment.

 

  
He knew the minute the son of Hades walked into the room. Even with his back turned, he could sense Nico’s presence, like a warm breeze on a spring day. Turning around, he caught those deep, obsidian eyes watching him, causing an involuntary shiver to run down his spine. Perhaps it was slightly obvious he liked the other boy. Only slightly. A lazy smile crossed his face as he wandered closer.

  
“Hey, di Angelo,” he murmured, catching the slight flush that covered the other’s cheeks.

  
“Hey yourself, Solace,” Nico muttered, crossing his arms and looking away.

  
“You ready to help out today?” Nico’s eyes drifted back toward him, and the boy shrugged.

  
“Depends on what you have in mind-“

  
“Hey Nico,” Kayla purred, coming up to stand a little too close for comfort. Will frowned at his sister, wondering why she was acting out of character, until he remembered Lou’s little plan. Nico cocked his eyebrow at the girl.

  
“Hey, Kayla, what’s up?” Grabbing onto his arm, Kayla batted her eyelashes at him playfully.

  
“Come help me over here real fast, would you? I could sure use your… expertise.”

  
“Uh, alright…” Nico said, staring at the girl like she’d grown a second head. Kayla tried to pull him away but he wriggled free of her grip and shoved his hands into his pockets, looking a little put out. Will just sighed and shook his head, going back to his work.

 

  
  
Apparently there was some kind of ‘accident’ at the climbing wall, because suddenly, they were swamped. At least ten demigods had mysteriously fallen off, some saying they were pushed, others claiming they had reached out for a hand hold that disappeared, then tumbled to the ground. Either way, they were rushing around, handing out ambrosia squares and wrapping limbs. Nico was beside him the whole time, ever the helpful little nurse.

  
They approached Connor Stoll, one of the last patients to be seen, who was in for a nice lump on his head and a gash on his leg. While Will checked his vital signs, Nico got to work cleaning out the cut, just like Will had showed him.

  
“So, what’s up, Nico?” Connor asked, blue eyes focused intently on Will. Will only deadpanned, refusing to acknowledge the boy’s little game.

  
“Just… helping out some,” he muttered, not even looking up from his work.

  
“That’s cool… so I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out later, maybe come to the bonfire with me tonight.” Will spluttered, trying to hide it with a very unconvincing cough. He glared at the son of Hermes, who shot him a smug look in return.

  
“Uh… why?” Nico was frowning, still focused on cleaning out the wound.

  
“Oh, you know, just wanted to hang out with you, that’s all.” Finally, the son of Hades looked up, cocking a brow at the impish boy. Connor smiled down at him lazily, and Will couldn’t help but notice the guy might actually be a little cute. His eyes narrowed apprehensively, watching Nico watch Connor.

  
“I don’t really do the whole kumbaya thing, Stoll.” Nico’s face remained frighteningly stoic as he stared up at the other boy. Connor just broke into a grin, leaning forward ever so slightly.

  
“Fine, then how is right now for you?” Will’s eye twitched but he remained silent, fighting down the urge to strangle the son of Hermes. He’d settle for berating Lou for her stupid plan later instead.

  
“I’m kind of busy, sorry dude.” Nico stood from his crouched position and dusted off his black pants. Turning to Will, he cocked a brow. “I’ll go cut some more bandages, you’re running low.” Then he mumbled something about the fourth time today already and left.

  
“Kids clueless if you ask me,” Connor muttered, pulling Will’s attention away from Nico’s retreating frame.

  
“Tell me about it,” Will agreed, hiding a smile behind his clipboard. Connor winked at him then jumped off the exam table.

  
“Thanks for the patch job, doc, gotta run. People to see, things to plot, the usual.” With a spring in his step, the boy strolled off whistling terribly.

 

 

Lou Ellen came up to him just before the bonfire, nudging him with her elbow. He was watching Nico talk with his friends, realizing they were trying to convince him to join them. The boy looked very put out, shoulders hunched and a very deep frown on his face.

  
“Well it appears you’re the exception, but you’re also screwed,” she said pinching him on the cheek. He batted her hand away and huffed.

  
“That makes no sense, it can’t be both.” She gave him a knowing look and shrugged.

  
“I convinced no less than 10 different people, and genders I might add, in case, you know, he went both ways, to flirt, touch, and try to court our little ray of darkness, and he turned down every last advance. Or, that is to say, he was so moody and dark that there was a zero percent success rate across the board. Not even a single stutter. I don’t even think he caught on once that anyone was trying to get a rise out of him.”

  
“And that’s… bad?” He asked, glancing back to where Nico was now being dragged by his friends toward the amphitheater.

  
“For you, yes. You’re going to have to smack that boy upside the head with a confession of love to get anything through that thick skull of his.”

  
“That’s fine, I can wait for things to happen on their own.” She snorted and patted him on the back.

  
“Yeah, sure, good luck with that one. Maybe you’ll get what you want sometime in the next decade.”

  
That night, during the sing along, he caught a certain son of Hades looking his way. Jason said something that made the boy blush bright red and sulk, hiding his face behind his hands.  Will smiled to himself, staring down at the crackling flames.  Perhaps the wait wouldn't be quite so long after all.


End file.
